Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Scumtrilescent: The Art of Blurbing

By Ellen Meister


There is no word to describe its perfection, so I am forced to make one up. And I'm going to do so right now. Scrumtrilescent.”
The ultimate blurbgasm, from Will Ferrell parodying James Lipton on SNL





If you’ve seen this SNL skit, you know that’s there a tipping point where praise goes so far over the top it gets ridiculous (and hilarious). That’s why blurbing is such an art. When one writer endorses another’s book, he or she has to walk that fine line of exuberant praise. Too much and it sounds phony, or even borderline psychotic. (It is like looking into the face of God and seeing Him smiling back and saying, ‘You are my most wondrous creation.’) Too little, and it comes off as a grudging endorsement.

But there's more to the messy, emotional, complicated, high-stakes blurbing game than writing the quote itself. There’s also an art to requesting a blurb.

When a writer approaches one of his or her literary heroes for a blurb, it's a good idea to let the admiration shine through. Yet there’s a fine line here, too. If you don't hit that sweet spot between flattery and fawning, you might just come across as smarmy ... even if you mean every word of it.

And let's not forget about the pitch. You have to actually convince the writer that your book is something they might like. Most writers I know would rather run headfirst into a brick wall than try to encapsulate 400 pages into one snappy paragraph, but it's critical.

Still, I think most authors would agree that the hardest part of the blurbing game is rejecting a request. And of course, it's something every published writer has to do. (Bestselling authors in particular get dozens of these requests every week, and by necessity have to the reject the vast majority.)

As someone who's been on  the receiving end of many of these rejections, I can tell you there are good ones and bad ones. My best advice? Don't try to convince the requester they don't really want your endorsement.("My blurbs don't help anyone sell books.") It's unconvincing. Trust that the individual writing to you knows it's a long shot, and will be gracious if you say you're simply too busy. They understand. And if they don't? Well, they'll pretend they do.

And that's acting at its finest ... acting that will make you re-examine your life ... acting that will make you see the world for the first time.

What's your blurb story? Have you received any sublime ones lately? Any terrible rejections? 
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Ellen Meister is the author of four novels and is grateful to have received blurbs from many of her favorite authors. Her new book, FAREWELL, DOROTHY PARKER, will be published by Putnam in February. For more information, visit her website at ellenmeister.com. For daily fun, follow her Dorothy Parker Facebook page.



15 comments:

  1. I approached several authors who never responded, but those who did give blurbs--including the fabulous Laura Spinella--were so gracious and so wonderful that I didn't care about the non-rejections. :)

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  2. This is a great topic, Ellen. For my new book, WHAT THE ZHANG BOYS KNOW, I requested blurbs from a number of terrific writers, mostly people I knew. I got a favorable response, but one writer responded promptly and firmly that he was now only doing blurbs for close friends. On the one hand, I respect this writer's candor and his response didn't bother me at all. And yet, now that I think about it, such a policy raises a question about the value of blurbs, if they are based on friendship more than quality.

    http://cliffordgarstang.com

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  3. I loved this! And boy do I dislike asking for blurbs. I once got a blurb so lackluster, I didn't see any point in using it.
    Another time someone asked me to make up my own blurb. (That was hard cuz I didn't want to be too effusive.)

    When I'm asked to blurb, if I have any connection to the asker I always say yes, but I've been known to skim the book a little if I'm in a time crunch.

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    1. Yes, a lackluster blurb isn't usually worth using. If I'm asked for a blurb I try my best to make it as un-lackluster as possible!

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  4. What a great topic Ellen. I just started a list of possible 'blurbers.' I am terrified of asking anyone.
    I was beyond thrilled to be asked to write one this summer.

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  5. What a great topic, Ellen! I did take one of those mega long shot attempts with a big name author for Beautiful Disaster. On the upside, she answered my email within minutes. On the downside, she politely declined. Overall, I did such a poor job securing blurbs for BD, I'm determined to a better job with THE IT FACTOR.

    It was a pleasure blurbing Barbara's book, but I agree, there definitely is an art to it!

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  6. Barbara - Wish I could be as mellow as you are about being ignored. I never mind the rejections, but I get so angry when I'm ignored. congrats on the blurb from the wonderful Laura Spinella!

    Cliff - Congrats on the great blurbs! (WHAT THE ZHANG BOYS KNOW is next up in my reading pile, btw!) I wonder if readers know that most blurbs are from personal connections.

    Karin - Funny that you were asked to write your own blurb! I never encountered that.

    Doreen - I understand the fear, but try to remember that everyone asks for blurbs. Also, don't be too dejected when people say no. Most do, alas, as there are just not enough hours in a day.

    Laura - Glad you took a shot with the big author. I think it's always worth trying as long as you don't take the rejections personally. Good luck with THE IT FACTOR!

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  7. By the way, does anyone else think that's one of the funniest SNL skits EVER? It kills me ...

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    1. Love Will Ferrell and he does Lipton so spot-on. And the real Lipton always seems like a parody to me -- sometimes he's really hard to take!

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  8. Ellen, love this post!! I think it's always good to reach for the stars when trying to find potential blurbers-- and then keep your disappointment in check when they say no!!

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    1. Exactly. I tend to go in expecting a no. Then, when I get a yes, it's confetti time!
      :)

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  9. my best blurb story is landing the fabulous Meg Cabot to blurb my first novel. I'd met her at my first RWA Nationals--I was such a fangirl of her writing and was so thrilled to see how approachable, lovely and funny she was. So on a lark I sent her an email in the desperate hope that she'd take pity on me and blurb me. The woman is SO busy and so prolific and always promoting yet another book, I figured I'd have very little chance of getting her to have the time. But she was enormously gracious, told me she was about to go on tour and was finishing up edits on a book and if I could get it to her asap she'd see if she could try to get to it. This was the days of overnighting the hard copy manuscript to someone, not a quick email of a word doc. She was just as sweet as can be and went out of her way to help me, and for this she will always be in the pantheon of pretty kick-ass and very human authors.
    I won't bore you with the details of the author who said she'd blurb me and then couldn't be bothered to find the time to read it OR let me know she couldn't be bothered to let me know she decided not to bother, and I had to hunt down her agent who then pawned off a lame excuse to me, leaving me with no time to land another blurb before publication.
    Meg Cabot showed me how gracious an uber-successful author could be, and the other one, who shall remain unnamed, showed me how ungracious an uber-successful author could be.
    I always strive to fall into the former, as I've learned from the best!

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    1. So happy to know that Meg Cabot is the real deal! She always seems exactly as approachable, lovely and funny as you say.

      And yes, the gracious ones are inspiring!

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  10. From a girl who got a blurb on her first book from the incredible Ellen Meister, I LOVE this topic! The praise I've received from other writers means so much to me. It feels much more validating, in some ways, then hearing from writers. Claire Cooke, who I purely adore, gave me a fabulous quote for my new novel and when I got it, I cried!! I love to send notes to writers I admire and see if they can read. I have yet to have my feelings hurt--we are all just so amazingly busy that I don't take it personally.

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    1. As you know, I was thrilled to blurb your warm, funny and wonderful debut!

      I love that you send fan notes to writers you admire. You're a class act, Samantha.

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